UPDATED with information from the accused’s latest court appearance, on Friday, Aug. 8.
Niagara-on-the-Lake native Richard Alan Moore, charged in a Muskoka boating collision that left a co-worker with serious injuries, was remanded in custody again on Friday morning after another brief court appearance in Bracebridge.
Moore, 39, who works with GGS Niagara Landscaping Inc. in Niagara Falls, faces several charges in the July 19 incident that hurt co-worker Austin Anderson during a weekend outing on Skeleton Lake in Muskoka.
He has been charged with impaired operation causing bodily harm, refusing to provide a breath sample, failing to stop at an accident causing bodily harm and failing to comply with a release order.
The former NOTL volunteer firefighter has now retained a lawyer to defend him on the charges and will be back in court on Wednesday, Aug. 13, when a date for a bail hearing is expected to be set.
Moore, who grew up in NOTL but now lives in Niagara Falls, has been appearing in court by video link from the Central North Correctional Centre in Penetanguishene, Ont.
Anderson is being treated for his injuries at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. He was in the water at Skeleton Lake when he was struck by a boat.
He has undergone several surgeries and his family is hopeful that he can make a full recovery.
Ontario Provincial Police investigators last week issued a call for more witnesses to come forward and also said they are seeking video footage that might help in their investigation.
The Bracebridge incident is the just latest legal problem Moore is facing.
In June, he pleaded guilty to reckless driving in the death of 84-year-old Niagara-on-the-Lake cyclist Nestor Chemerika.
Moore left the scene after he struck down the senior while driving along East and West Line in July 2023. Chemerika died of his injuries 12 days later.
A sentencing date in that case has not yet been set.
Moore, who was wearing a “volunteer fire department” T-shirt on the evening that Chemerika was hit, was a volunteer with the NOTL Fire Department for a few years.
He was forced to resign about six years ago over his attendance and availability to answer emergency calls.
Meanwhile, Anderson’s family launched a GoFundMe campaign to help raise $25,000 to support him in his recovery.
The largest single donation to the campaign is $3,600, from GGS Niagara.
Anderson is from Keswick, near Lake Simcoe, but about a year ago, he and his family moved to Welland, his cousin Steve Anderson told The Lake Report.
Relatives, including his parents, Erin and Brennan Anderson, have been staying in Toronto to be near him.
Austin Anderson and Moore, who has worked as a contractor specializing in concrete driveway installations, both were employed by GGS Niagara Landscaping.
While company owner Graham Boaretti has confirmed that Anderson is an employee, he declined to say more or to speak about Moore, noting, “We’re letting the investigators do their work.”
In a Facebook posting, Boaretti urged people to help the family and described Anderson as “one of my best friends.”
The fund has raised about $21,000 so far.
